Killing In The Name
Rage Against the Machine, 1992. Solo by Tom Morello.
The guitar as siren: Morello uses a Whammy pedal and killswitch instead of scales.
Tom Morello's solo avoids scales altogether. He uses a DigiTech Whammy set two octaves up and alternate-picks rapidly while working the pedal, creating screeching, siren-like swoops that sound closer to a synthesiser or turntable than a conventional guitar. The song sits in drop D, played on a Telecaster, which gives the riffs their heavy low end and makes the high shrieks stand out even more. The solo slots between the building verses and the explosive final section, a burst of controlled chaos. It showed a new generation that noise and texture could be a lead voice. Listen for the pitch swooping up and down with the pedal while the picking rhythm stays locked to the drums.
Killing In The Name by Rage Against the Machine is ranked #49 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Tom Morello and the song was released in 1992. It appears on 13 lists, placing as high as #4 (NME).
The story of Killing In The Name
The song began in an ordinary guitar lesson. Tom Morello was showing a student how drop-D tuning works when he hit on the riff, paused the lesson to capture it on tape, and brought it to the band the next day. Rage Against the Machine built the track together, with Tim Commerford's molten bass lines and Brad Wilk's funky, brutal drumming framing Zack de la Rocha's furious vocal.
The lyric is a blistering attack on institutional racism and police violence in America. Its best-known line links members of the police to cross-burning Klan members, and the song builds from a chant into de la Rocha's repeated, screamed refusal to obey; the uncensored version famously uses the f-word 17 times. Because the arrangement keeps building, the band only unleashes its full force in the final minutes.
Co-produced by the band and Garth Richardson, it was serviced to US radio on 20 October 1992 ahead of the self-titled debut album, whose cover used Malcolm Browne's photograph of the monk Thich Quang Duc's 1963 self-immolation. A video directed by Morello's student Peter Gideon was banned by US MTV but aired uncensored in Europe. The single reached the top 10 in Australia and New Zealand in 1993. In December 2009, a Facebook campaign against The X Factor's grip on the festive chart sent it to the UK Christmas number one, the first download-only single to achieve that.
The solo
Tom Morello's solo is one of the most recognisable noise-based leads of the 1990s. Rather than running scales, he uses a DigiTech Whammy WH-1, set to shift his signal up two octaves, and alternate-picks rapidly while working the pedal to create screeching, siren-like swoops that sound closer to a synthesiser or turntable than a conventional guitar. Wikipedia notes he recorded with a Fender Telecaster, and the whole song sits in drop-D tuning, which gives the riffs their heavy low end. Songfacts adds that the jet-engine swoosh on the opening chord hits comes from an 1980s Ibanez flanger. The solo slots between the song's building verses and the explosive final section, working as a burst of controlled chaos that sets up de la Rocha's closing refrain.
Legacy
Rolling Stone ranked it No. 24 among the 100 greatest guitar songs, and Guitar World placed the solo at No. 89 on its list of the greatest solos. It came second in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009, and in 2021 UK listeners picked it as their favourite Christmas number one. In January 2025 it became the band's first song to pass one billion Spotify streams, and it remains a rallying cry at protests around the world.
Top 10 facts about Killing In The Name
Morello came up with the riff while teaching a student drop-D tuning and paused the lesson to record it.
WikipediaThe solo uses an original DigiTech Whammy WH-1 pitched up two octaves while Morello alternate-picks.
SongfactsThe jet-like swoosh on the opening chord hits comes from an 1980s Ibanez flanger.
SongfactsIn December 2009 it became the first download-only single to be the UK Christmas number one, after a campaign against The X Factor.
WikipediaIt sold 502,672 downloads in its first week of the 2009 campaign, setting a Guinness world record for the fastest-selling digital track in the UK.
WikipediaRoyalties and donations from the campaign produced a cheque of £162,713.03 for the homeless charity Shelter, presented at Finsbury Park in June 2010.
WikipediaIn February 1993, BBC Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brookes accidentally played the uncensored version, drawing 138 complaints.
WikipediaThe music video was directed by Peter Gideon, one of Morello's guitar students, and was banned from US MTV.
WikipediaMorello said he was sickened to learn the song had been used at painful volume during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay.
WikipediaIn January 2025 it became the first Rage Against the Machine song to pass one billion Spotify streams.
Wikipedia
Live versions
- Woodstock '99 (1999) Performed during the band's set at the turbulent festival, with an altered lyric.
- BBC Radio 5 Live session (2009) De la Rocha sang the uncensored lyrics live on air, forcing the hosts to apologise.
- Finsbury Park, London (2010) Free thank-you concert for about 40,000 fans after the Christmas number one campaign.
Notable covers
- Biffy Clyro (2008) Acoustic version performed at Reading Festival.
- Phish (2010) Played it at their 4 July show.
- Richard Cheese (2011) Lounge-music parody version.
- Prophets of Rage (2016) Played live by the supergroup featuring Morello, Commerford and Wilk.
- Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker (2020) Recorded in response to the protests after George Floyd's killing.
In our lists
- The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #49
- The Modern Canon: Best Since 1990 — #10
- The Road Trip 50 — #12
- The 25 Greatest Alternative Rock Guitar Solos — #2
- The 1990s — #10
- Whammy, Fuzz & Feedback — #5
- Solos in Hit Singles — #12
- SGs & Telecasters — #4
Sources
- NME: 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #4
- Gitaarles.nl: Gitaarsolo's leren spelen met de 25 vetste gitaarsolo's aller tijden! — #10
- WatchMojo (article text): Top 30 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time — #19
- liamrecord.blog: 洋楽ロックを代表する心に刺さる 名曲ギターソロ、ベスト20 — #20
- Guitar World: The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time — #41
- Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #44
- Classic Rock (Louder): The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock — #65
- Bombay Lives (Substack): 100 Greatest Guitar Solos — #89
- Topito (now 10h26.com): Top 100 des plus grands solos de guitare de l'histoire (Benoit Floyd) — #89
- Guitar Tricks: 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #92
- Guitar Solo Legends: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — Ranked (2026) — #94
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #152
- Thomann: 25 Iconic Guitar Solos
- Wikipedia: Killing in the Name
- Songfacts: Killing in the Name
Who played the guitar solo on Killing In The Name?
Tom Morello played the solo on Rage Against the Machine's Killing In The Name (1992).
What guitar was used on the Killing In The Name solo?
A fender telecaster through a Marshall amp, with DigiTech Whammy, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Killing In The Name rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#49 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 13 of them.
What pedal does Tom Morello use on the Killing in the Name solo?
A DigiTech Whammy WH-1, set two octaves up while he picks rapidly.
What tuning is Killing in the Name in?
Drop-D tuning; Morello discovered the riff while teaching a student drop D.
What is Killing in the Name about?
It attacks institutional racism and police brutality, linking some police to the Ku Klux Klan.
How did Killing in the Name become Christmas number one?
A 2009 Facebook campaign by Jon and Tracy Morter urged buyers to beat The X Factor winner, and it topped the UK chart.
What guitar did Tom Morello use on Killing in the Name?
Wikipedia says he recorded it with a Fender Telecaster.